Sanity Savers August 3, 2011

Sanity Savers…

We all have them, what are yours?? Some of mine you may laugh at, or think is this woman mad, but enjoy…and comment below your sanity savers…I’d love to hear them all!

• Chocolate – A good piece of chocolate can, maybe not fix, but mask a lot of frustrations
  

  Sanity Saving Munchies

• Music – I’m famous for my one eared parenting. One ear on the kids, one ear with an ear bud blasting something awesome. This one’s great for the car too, when all you can think is, ‘If I have to listen to this Barney DVD one more time I’ll pull my own ears off’.
• The boys iPods – You’d be amazed at how peaceful my house can become when the iPods have been distributed and everyone’s You-Tubing away. Plus, they have actually learned a ton from their YouTube addiction (for those interested in this sanity saving method check out KidsTv123 on YouTube).
• My iPod – Escaping into a game, the news, or a social media site can be just the break my brain needs.
• A Drive – On a day filled with whining and fighting sometimes loading everyone up and saying lets go is just what we need. Whether it’s a trip to Happy Hour at Sonic, or Fries and Pies at Mc’D’s, a $5.00 Hot & Ready at Little Caesars, or just a drive thru the old part of town to see something we have never noticed all these years. Staying home gets boring for us and for them, we never get out of the car just drive slow and soak in the scenery.
• A quick phone call- Step into your room, even if the kids are screaming in the background, those that love you and know your stresses will tolerate your crazy screaming kids to give you a 5 min sanity check, I promise. Call your spouse just to say ‘Hi’, call your mom, sibling, or grandparent, a friend. You don’t have to whine about your problems, just say Hey. Talk about something/anything that’s kid free…clear your mind…distract yourself.
• Lose yourself in a project – You’d be amazed at how much more motivating cleaning a bathroom can be if you know that if you’re not cleaning you’re refereeing.
• The TV – I don’t care what the ‘experts’ say…the ‘experts’ don’t have 3 kids with special needs, hell most probably don’t even have 1 kid. No, TV shouldn’t raise you child, but I belive it’s 100% okay to throw a movie on so you can do dishes, take a shower, play with one of your other kids, or just prop your feet up for a few minutes
• Fresh Air- I know it’s hot, especially in this part of summer, but send the kids out early in the morning or late at night. Let them run in the back yard, splash in the sprinkler, drink from the hose, fill a kiddie pool…you know all that stuff we did as kids that now they say is bad for them 😉
• A craft – As much as dread the thought of cleaning up after painting or baking with the kids, once we get started, even though it never goes as I planned, we all have a blast. Cover the table or floor with a big piece of butcher paper, or an old sheet, and let them go wild. Then hose them off in the backyard for easy clean-up, and I’m pretty sure, while it’s still summer, being hosed off counts as a ghetto bath (Lazy Mom Win!!!)
• 

  My Mom Hide Out

  Hide – Yes, I said it; Yes, I do it. No, I don’t lock myself in a room and ignore my kids. But from time to time, on a particularly stressful day I’ve been known to put a movie on and sneak off into my room (door open) and hide out for a few minutes of quiet to unwind before I get busted by the monsters.

• Laugh – If I didn’t laugh every time I came around the corner to find a child covered head to toe in pancake syrup, peanut butter, dish soap, butter, the list goes on…, I’d lose my mine. I used to stress about the messes, but they don’t matter. Just laugh at the memory your making, have the monster attempt to help with clean up, and hide whatever helped to cause the disaster.
  

  I'm Glad He Enjoyed The Cake

• Mommy Juice – there’s nothing wrong with a little spiked OJ or a pina colada every now and then…just remember, “A man’s gotta know his limitations” [Good advice, not only when it comes to drinking, but to life in general…that Clint Eastwood is one wise old man 😉 ]
• Remember ‘They’re only young once” – Make memories, take pictures, focus on the postitives…and on a crap day pull out the pictures and flashback to all the wonderful memories, then go out and make more. They grow up way to fast. I don’t care how overused that saying is, it couldn’t be more true.
• Take a break to remember all you have- I posted this the other day, but it’s worth repeating, a quote from an old Yaga tee, ‘Too Blessed To Be Stressed”. Even when we feel we are at our wits end we all have something to be grateful for, even if it’s as simple as the air we breathe.
• Pray

Van Wilder said it best “Worrying’s like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere”

And a final thought on those days where you feel you want to snap and you can’t get a ‘me time’ break, remember my motto, “No matter how much shit the throws at you, it will keep going…so I will keep going…knee deep in dookie and kicking ass the whole way”

–>A quick disclaimer – All the fast food establishments listed above, as well as You Tube, iPod, and KidsTV123 have no idea I’m even writing about them, and everything here is just my two cents. It may or may not work for your family 😉